Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Two years ago when I graduated with my new degree in Accounting (I'm a career changer), I had a lot of luck working with recruiters and staffing agencies. I found some temp work to start gaining experience and after about 6 months many more recruiters were contacting me for entry level accounting roles. At the peak I was working with about four firms simultaneously while looking for a more permanent role, and it wasn't uncommon for me to have 2-3 interviews a week. During this time, I was working primarily with just one recruiter who was contacting me weekly with 1-2 jobs to interview for and I felt the relationship was really working out well.
However, I got set up for one accounting interview that turned out to be a big wash, and I walked out of the interview after 15 minutes because I was so disgusted by the hiring manager's attitude and deceit. In short, this hiring manager labeled the position as a Staff Accountant role, but in reality the position was nothing more than a receptionist and personal assistant. The role almost entirely involved answering phones, sorting papers and emails, stamping documents, and literally no accounting or finance work. She was very vague about the details of the position, and kept saying it was whatever she wanted done at that time. Long story short, I basically told her that this position was not how she described it to me or my recruiter, that it was better suited for someone looking for a receptionist or admin assistant job, and that I was not interested and wanted to stop the interview to avoid wasting both our time.
I felt good about walking out, but only about 15 minutes after my interview my recruiter called me and started yelling at me. She said the hiring manager called her, said I had made a fool of her, mocked her, and that she was shocked they (the recruiting firm) would send such a rude candidate her way. I explained to my recruiter what really happened, but she said even if true I should have just stuck out the interview and acted interested... I didn't hear much more from her that week, but didn't think much of it at the time as I ended up finding a new job (on my own - no recruiters) just a week later.
I've been at my current job for a year now and I decided I wanted to look for new work. I've contacted all the old recruiters I worked with, but NONE are responding to my calls or emails. My resume is more impressive than before by a long shot, but I haven't heard a peep from a single recruiter and it's been weeks. (I've called and left messages but no return calls either). It made me wonder if that one recruiter put me on some blacklist, but why would the three other recruiting firms also not be contacting me? Is there some recruiters blacklist that I don't know about? Is there a way to check if your name is on it? I'm worried that somehow my name got spread around from one blacklist and now no recruiters will contact me over such a silly little interview...
It could be that she knew you saw through her and she really didn't like that. People who are trying to gain something by deceptive means don't take well to being exposed. Or, she may have been that special breed that believes their own lies and sees themselves as a permanent victim. She may have genuinely felt "attacked".
Regardless though, agencies are ALL about the bottom line, and if a client isn't happy they will side with the client because the client is their cash cow. You then become the unfortunate casualty in the situation.
If you are ever in another situation like that, just note in your head "This is not a job I want to take" and leave it at that. You can express your concerns to the agency after the fact, calmly.
As for a blacklist, it's possible that the particular agency in question might have you on a "Do not call" list. But I doubt other agencies would write you off too, unless they're all owned by the same parent company.
Could be anything, some recruiters I worked with before never responded to my emails later on, and I certainly did nothing to be on a 'blacklist.'
At any rate, what the OP did was, sorry to say, a little unprofessional. Sorry but since the OP put it out there it's worth discussing.
Regardless of whether the described job was what the OP actually applied for, it's rude to lecture a hiring manager, of all people, in an interview and then walk out. The tone doesn't matter.
There's a thing called professionalism. The hiring manager had to take time out of her schedule to conduct the interview. The OP could have simply done the interview, thanked the hiring manager for her time, and then after the fact told the recruiter there's no longer any interest due to conflict between listed and described position. Everyone saves face and no one is put on the spot or disrespected.
The OP claims that it felt good to walk out like that, but is it really worth a few minutes of self satisfaction making people look bad? I wouldn't blame anyone if someone wanted to form a sort of 'blacklist,' after all, a recruiter is putting their reputation on the line sending candidates. It's their job to act as a 'conduit' between employer and applicant.
I agree the OP could have been more diplomatic and just said that this job doesn't seem a good fit the way you describe it and that you were looking for an accounting job. Just accusing the HM of misrepresenting the job and storming out was bridge burning. Otherwise it is likely the agency itself has the OP marked as a do not use but there are no universal blacklists.
I guess I could have been more diplomatic about it, but sometimes people really need to be called out for their bull****, or they just keep doing it. Unfortunately, usually calling someone one their bull**** causes you to be a martyr, you burn that bridge. Never in my life have I stopped an interview, but this was easily the most unprofessional and deceitful interview I've ever been on. Not only was the hiring manager doing a massive (and obvious) bait and switch with the position. (Advertised as an accounting role with decent pay when in reality it was an admin role with below average pay), but she was just being plain rude and refusing to honestly answer any questions I had about the role. I would ask questions about the responsibilities or the hours or the work environment, and she would beat around the bush a ton evading my original questions. I got sick of her crap and called her out on it. I know some people will say the hiring manager had to make time for me, but it shouldn't be one sided. It took me one hour to drive up there and my time is worth something too. I was missing work (pay) for this interview and the interview is as much for me to determine if the company and job is what I want as it is for the manager to see if they want me for the job. This particular interview was also scheduled to go for one hour as there was a on-site assessment they wanted you to take. (typing or microsoft office I believe)
FOR THE RECORD THOUGH, it's not like I was super rude about it or anything. The interview got to a point where she asked if this position sounded like a job I was interested in and that's basically when I said, "No", and went on to explain how the position was actually not what was originally advertised and that she would be better off looking for someone seeking a more admin assistant position. Blunt for sure... and I could have worded it more gracefully in hindsight, but it was simply said in a very matter of fact way without any rudeness, mocking, or embarrassing like she claimed I had to my recruiter
Last edited by the_grimace; 05-09-2016 at 08:01 PM..
I guess I could have been more diplomatic about it, but sometimes people really need to be called out for their bull****, or they just keep doing it. Unfortunately, usually calling someone one their bull**** causes you to be a martyr, you burn that bridge. Never in my life have I stopped an interview, but this was easily the most unprofessional and deceitful interview I've ever been on. Not only was the hiring manager doing a massive (and obvious) bait and switch with the position. (Advertised as an accounting role with decent pay when in reality it was an admin role with below average pay), but she was just being plain rude and refusing to honestly answer any questions I had about the role. I would ask questions about the responsibilities or the hours or the work environment, and she would beat around the bush a ton evading my original questions. I got sick of her crap and called her out on it. I know some people will say the hiring manager had to make time for me, but it shouldn't be one sided. It took me one hour to drive up there and my time is worth something too. I was missing work (pay) for this interview and the interview is as much for me to determine if the company and job is what I want as it is for the manager to see if they want me for the job. This particular interview was also scheduled to go for one hour as there was a on-site assessment they wanted you to take. (typing or microsoft office I believe)
FOR THE RECORD THOUGH, it's not like I was super rude about it or anything. The interview got to a point where she asked if this position sounded like a job I was interested in and that's basically when I said, "No", and went on to explain how the position was actually not what was originally advertised and that she would be better off looking for someone seeking a more admin assistant position. Blunt for sure... and I could have worded it more gracefully in hindsight, but it was simply said in a very matter of fact way without any rudeness, mocking, or embarrassing like she claimed I had to my recruiter
But can you see that "the workplace" (in a broad sense) is a game with rules, and you broke those rules?
Yes, it's a PITA to sit in an interview for a job that was misrepresented. I've been there too. But you don't just get up and leave.
I guess I could have been more diplomatic about it,
but sometimes people really need to be called out for their bull****,
or they just keep doing it......
"...but sometimes people really need to be called out for their bull****, ..."
That is the crux of the matter, right there.
For some reason, you have decided you are the arbiter of how people should do things.
This kind of psychology is bound to show up elsewhere, making you a loose cannon.
You were supposed to keep in mind that if you grenade the interview, it will affect the recruiter's willingness to continue to represent you.
As you have been told, it would have been more appropriate for you to sit through the entire interview and simply say you need a day or so to decide. You then take your 'concerns' to the recruiter.
We had a recruit who did what you did only he was even more demonstrative about it-
He would argue with the client about how he was running his business.
We reminded him that was not his role- that he was to simply interview and end it gracefully, letting us know the job was not for him.
He did it again and we dropped him.
There is no 'blacklist' per se, among recruiters but word of mouth among those who do speak with each other will be where someone passes on a recommendation about not representing either a specific client or applicant.
When I was starting out, I was [another] victim of not listening to the good advice from a headhunter that I drop my efforts to get a certain company's business (it took me about eleven months to catch on, me feeling pretty stupid about it, especially since I was warned in advance by someone with more experience than I) and on another occasion, when I mentioned a particularly difficult candidate we had, not being able to get him any offers, I was greeted with hoots and hollers, telling me that it was understood by all the headhunters in that industry niche to avoid that person. Apparently he was well-known to be a particularly odd misfit [in an industry largely made up of misfits].
So, yes, word can get around.
Paul..............
....
Last edited by HeadhunterPaul; 05-10-2016 at 11:29 AM..
Reason: text edit
Two years ago when I graduated with my new degree in Accounting (I'm a career changer), I had a lot of luck working with recruiters and staffing agencies. I found some temp work to start gaining experience and after about 6 months many more recruiters were contacting me for entry level accounting roles. At the peak I was working with about four firms simultaneously while looking for a more permanent role, and it wasn't uncommon for me to have 2-3 interviews a week. During this time, I was working primarily with just one recruiter who was contacting me weekly with 1-2 jobs to interview for and I felt the relationship was really working out well.
However, I got set up for one accounting interview that turned out to be a big wash, and I walked out of the interview after 15 minutes because I was so disgusted by the hiring manager's attitude and deceit. In short, this hiring manager labeled the position as a Staff Accountant role, but in reality the position was nothing more than a receptionist and personal assistant. The role almost entirely involved answering phones, sorting papers and emails, stamping documents, and literally no accounting or finance work. She was very vague about the details of the position, and kept saying it was whatever she wanted done at that time. Long story short, I basically told her that this position was not how she described it to me or my recruiter, that it was better suited for someone looking for a receptionist or admin assistant job, and that I was not interested and wanted to stop the interview to avoid wasting both our time.
I felt good about walking out, but only about 15 minutes after my interview my recruiter called me and started yelling at me. She said the hiring manager called her, said I had made a fool of her, mocked her, and that she was shocked they (the recruiting firm) would send such a rude candidate her way. I explained to my recruiter what really happened, but she said even if true I should have just stuck out the interview and acted interested... I didn't hear much more from her that week, but didn't think much of it at the time as I ended up finding a new job (on my own - no recruiters) just a week later.
I've been at my current job for a year now and I decided I wanted to look for new work. I've contacted all the old recruiters I worked with, but NONE are responding to my calls or emails. My resume is more impressive than before by a long shot, but I haven't heard a peep from a single recruiter and it's been weeks. (I've called and left messages but no return calls either). It made me wonder if that one recruiter put me on some blacklist, but why would the three other recruiting firms also not be contacting me? Is there some recruiters blacklist that I don't know about? Is there a way to check if your name is on it? I'm worried that somehow my name got spread around from one blacklist and now no recruiters will contact me over such a silly little interview...
There isn't a specific blacklist, but many professions (like recruiting) are so small and tightknit that all the other recruiters likely know your recruiter. When you left messages for the other recruiters, they talked to the recruiter you had the issue with to find out more about you and that's when they found out that you have a difficult personality and that you aren't worth the hassle considering that there are lots of other accounting candidates with a year of experience out there. You'll need to look for other avenues to find new jobs because it seems unlikely that any of the local recruiters will work with you anytime in the near future.
BTW, for future career reference, there are few times where you will ever be in a position to call out someone's bull**** in the workplace without having it damage your career. The CEO of a company can maybe call out someone's BS and get away with it - you as a junior peon are not in that position - as you've now discovered. Even in a big city, many professions are smaller than it would seem (like accounting especially at the CPA level) and you never know when you will run into someone you never expected to run into again. Or when that manager/co-worker/subordinate you p***ed off 15 years ago will know the HR manager that wants to hire you today - one phone call and that opportunity is gone. Don't purposefully burn bridges!
Recruiters are salesman working on commission, nothing more. While they do serve a purpose I've found that in my professional life I've had FAR more success finding positions on my own. With an accounting background, you could literally pick just about any company in your area and apply around, every firm needs accounting help. Try going it on your own for a while and see how that works.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Employee Blacklist
